Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Almost twenty feet in length, the Batmobile was driven by Michael Keaton in Tim Burton's 1989 Batmanand the 1992 movie Batman Returns.

With his dark reinvention of 'Batman' Tim Burton really did kick-start the boom in big-budget Hollywood comic book movies.

Tim Burton's Batmobile

The Batmobile featured in the movies were based upon a 1967 Chevy Impala found at a London junkyard. It was powered by a 327-cubic inch V-8 Chevrolet engine mounted low in the frame in order to drop the hood line and enhance the sleek profile of the car.

1989 Batman movie poster

The Batmobile from Batman and Batman Returns

Designer Anton Furst took the iconic Batmobile design and reinterpreted it into a powerful and menacing crime-fighting machine which fit into Tim Burton's Art-Deco inspired Gotham City.

Michael Keaton as 'Batman' with the Batmobile

Rolls-Royce jet engine components were used to form the hood-mounted intake and turbine blades in the nose piece were scavenged from a British Harrier fighter jet.

The Batmobile as featured in Tim Burton's

1989 Batman and 1992 Batman Returns

Two Batmobiles, the featured car and a stand-in, appeared in Batman and Batman Returns. Three additional studio-authorized Batmobiles, of which this car is one, were constructed for publicity and promotional purposes after the film's release.